DISTAGON 35 for CONTAX 645

Review and photo examples of DISTAGON 35mm, a medium format/wide-angle lens manufactured by Kyocera/Contax

Table of contents

Gallery

  • Photo example by LEICA S Typ007

Review

Distagon 35mm F3.5 is a wide-angle lens with a focal length of 35mm released by Kyocera for the medium format camera Contax 645.
When used with Leica S, the focal length is 28mm in 35mm version.
When used with a Contax 645 film camera, the magnification is 0.6x in 35mm format, making it a wide-angle lens equivalent to 21mm. Looking at the first results, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw on the monitor how sharp the images were when I stopped down the aperture.
The three wide-angle lenses on the Contax 645 are 35mm, 45mm, and 55mm, and each has its own characteristics: 35mm focuses on resolution, 45mm has soft rendering, and 55mm is somewhere in between.

In 2023, when the standard lens is 24mm or less, the focal length of 28mm when used with LEICA S is not an extremely wide-angle lens.
I think this focal length makes it easy to decide on the composition and provides a well-balanced shooting range when shooting with a medium format digital sensor (45mm x 30mm).
Distortion is not noticeable when photographing subjects such as landscapes, but when photographing a grid-like subject at a distance of about 3 meters, barrel-shaped distortion may become noticeable in the periphery. In the case of such a subject, it will be necessary to correct it using software.

Like other Contax 645 lenses, there is a lag in the time it takes for this lens to become usable when connected to the LEICA S typ007, but I feel it is a little faster than the SONNAR 140mm and DISTAGON 45mm. This may be due to the short distance the lens moves to focus.
Focus speed isn’t as fast as other Contax 645 lenses, but I feel it’s within the practical range.
Since this is an old lens, if you use it without a hood, stray light and flare due to ghosts may occur during backlighting, reducing contrast, so I think it is safe to attach a hood when shooting outdoors. If it is difficult to obtain the dedicated hood GB-101, GB-104 for Vario Sonnar can be used as an alternative if used with LEICA S.

Possible comparison targets for the DISTAGON 35mm are the “Hasselblad HC35mm” and the “Leica Elmarito S f2.8/35mm ASPH. (Order no. 11077 | CS: 11078).”
The Elmarito S 35mm is priced at nearly 1 million yen, so I don’t think I can afford it on my personal income. As of 2023, Elmarito S lenses are no longer sold, so you will have to look for them on the used market. A comparison of specs on paper is as shown in the lens specifications: Elmarito S is heavier and larger, but has a one step brighter aperture of F2.5, a luxurious lens configuration of 12 elements in 9 groups, and an aspherical lens. .
For focusing, similar to the DISTAGON 35mm/HC35mm, the lens uses a rear focusing system that moves the small glass rear group to enable high-speed focusing.
In the MTF chart comparison, the description and display range are different up to 27mm for Leica and 35mm for ZEISS, but when comparing Elmarito S and Distagon in the range up to 27mm, Elmarito has an overwhelming victory in the graph line diagram.
Elmarito S is a lens that was released in a new year and uses the latest design, so you can understand why it is expensive.

The HC35mm has the same filter diameter of 95mm and the maximum lens diameter is almost the same, but the DISTAGON 35mm has a shorter lens length, a slimmer focus section, and is about 100g lighter.
This is because the HC35mm has a slightly more complex lens structure and a shutter mechanism.
When using HC35mm with HASSELBLAD X2D, Phocas corrects it well and the roughness is not noticeable, but when using it with LEICA S and developing DNG, you may notice a slight barrel distortion. As mentioned earlier, the barrel distortion of the DISTAGON 35mm is also a concern. Although I have not made a quantitative evaluation, the amount of distortion is approximately the same.

In the past, these lenses were relatively rare and expensive, and the number of lenses was small, but in 2023, it seems that a large number of lenses have been supplied to the second-hand market, and depending on the condition of the lenses, you can find them at bargain prices. The lens I will be introducing comes with a hood (GB-101) and I got it for around 80,000 yen.

Specification

ItemsSpec1Spec 2Spec3
Lens nameCONTAX
Distagon 35mm
LEICA
SUMMARIT-S 45mm
HASSELBLAD
HC35mm
Focal length(mm)35.53535.8
Max aperture3.52.53.5
Min aperture322232
Lens Construction9elements in
7groups
12elements in 9groups11elements in 10groups
Min distance(m)0.50.60.5
Lens length(mm)
Distance from mount flange
108122124
Lens Max dia.(mm)10888100
Filter Size(mm)958295
Weight(g)877930/1030(CS)975
Release date19992013/10/10
Price¥287,000-
Y2023 Uesd price ¥80,000〜
Non shutter ¥847,000-
With shutter ¥979,000-
Y2023 Uesd price ¥150,000〜

Reference links

Update history

  • 2024.2.11:Update
  • 2023.05.20:First draft

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